journey

One of the hardest parts on my journey to finding the writer in me is to find my very own writing voice. I’ve often found myself wishing (and sometimes still do, I suppose) that I could write as humorous as Bill Bryson, as captivating and realistic as Donna Leon, as fascinating as Michael Crichton … the list goes on and on. But while I may have my funny moments here and there, I would never be able to imitate any of these voices … and I know that I really should not try. None of us should. Part of writing, editing, fighting with and finally loving your story is to find your very own voice. It’s the only one that will truly bring your story to life.

While working on my story, I realized that the more I wrote, the less I tried to be like other authors (even the ones I love). The more I got to know my characters, learned the intricacies of my plot, added exciting or emotionally charged scenes, the more my own voice started to break through. Upon finishing the first draft of my manuscript and then re-reading it (and re-reading it again, and again, and …), I grew more confident in my ability to write and -maybe more importantly- in the way I write.

Then, just a little while ago (pretty late at night), I read part of my story while listening to a song I had recently discovered (Book of Days, Enya).* The melody and the words had an amazing effect on me: Instead of being anxious about whether my story is any good or not, whether I have what it takes to be a storyteller, I actually started to feel calm. The anxiety I have been feeling for so long was slowly disappearing, and I realized that I was on the right way to developing my very own voice. I have found but a tiny little string of notes so far, and I don’t think that this journey will ever truly end, but with each word I write I know that I am creating my very own melody, the one that has the power to give a story what it needs, what I want it to be able to do, what I crave from every story I read myself: the ability to let the reader feel the emotions I intended to convey with each word I write.

So the next time you doubt yourself or your writing abilities, just lean back and wait for the melody to find you. It will when you least expect it.

*I really can’t write if I don’t listen to some kind of music, so I have songs for everything I write; fiction, non-fiction, it doesn’t matter. Music is really important to me, as you can read here. Should this novel ever get published, I will share the songs that have had a truly profound impact on this story.